Why Every Employee Should Participate In Their March Madness Office Pool

Maybe you think March Madness is a distraction, or you're not
that into sports, or you don't want to fork over any money.
Whatever it is, you should just get over it and join your office
pool.

Yes, it's true that U.S. companies lose about $1 billion in
productivity during the tournament due to excited employees
live-streaming games and constantly checking their brackets — but
Dennis Nishi wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal article that openly
bringing March Madness into the office can actually be
"useful on many levels."

This year, an estimated 50 million Americans are participating in
March Madness office pools, according to global outplacement firm
Challenger, Gray & Christmas. And the good news is, according
to another survey by staffing firm OfficeTeam, nearly
a third of senior managers believe workplace activities tied to
March Madness, such as office pools, have a positive impact on
employee morale and productivity.

David Fagiano, COO of Dale Carnegie
Training, agrees that March Madness offers a great
opportunity for employee engagement and overall team morale. An
office pool encourages healthy competition among colleagues, he
says. "And as a result, coworkers can form personal bonds that
not only boost collaboration but also engagement and productivity
in the long run."

So stop making excuses and join in on the fun. It'll strengthen
your workplace relationships, make the culture more enjoyable,
and could actually end up benefiting your company.

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